After the departure of Inigo and Lil Joe, two manatees that had been living The Seas with Nemo & Friends at EPCOT, Disney has welcomed a new pair of “sea cows.”
The manatees named Cider and Mino recently made their debut in the facility. But they’ll only be there for a little while as Disney shifts the focus of the facility from a long-term residence to one that provides short-term, critical care for manatees.
The shift comes amid an effort to meet a growing need to rehabilitate manatees in need.
“As stranding increase, critical care facilities are becoming overwhelmed, so by shifting our focus, we open up space at The Seas for more of those urgent cases,” said Dr. Jen, a veterinarian at Disney World, in a release.
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From here on out, manatees at EPCOT will likely stay in Disney’s care between six and nine months, with the goal being to get them healthy enough to release back into the wild.
To make way for the change, Lil Joe and Inigo were moved to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach last month.
For its conservation efforts, Disney works with the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Recent changes at The Seas have followed recommendations from both groups to support ongoing animal rehabilitation efforts.
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